Bali, Indonesia

A Country in the South East of Asia, this Indonesian island provides the perfect mix of opportunities for cultural exploration and relaxation. Travelers should spend time visiting and learning about the island’s many ancient temples before heading to one of its beautiful beaches.
As far as accommodations go, Bali features dozens of villas, hotels, and resorts (at varying price points). To up the luxury factor, stay at a five-star resort like the Four Seasons or St. Regis and indulge in a relaxing and revitalizing spa treatments.

Peru

A beautiful Tropical Country in the South American Continent, The Peruvian territory was home to several ancient cultures, ranging from the Norte Chico civilization in the 32nd century BC, This Incan citadel in Peru is a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Part of the fun for many travelers is conquering the four-day hike along the Inca Trail before being rewarded with the view of this sprawling UNESCO World Heritage site. If you’re not one for hiking, you can still see this impressive historical site by hopping on a train from Cusco to the mountain base.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is strategically located at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta in Southern China. Hong Kong is a destination that puts travelers’ senses into overdrive. The glittering skyline, the dynamic food scene, the historical sites, and the family-friendly attractions are just a few reasons visitors can’t get enough of this bustling metropolis.
Start your trip with a tour of the waterfront on the Star Ferry, and pencil in visits to Hong Kong Disneyland or Ocean Park amusement park if you’re traveling with kids. Meanwhile, foodies will delight in the culinary options: Dim sum, stir-fry, and pineapple buns should be a few things you surely sample.

Greece

The country is one of the most exotic locations of Europe, it is washed to the east by the Aegean Sea, to the west by the Ionian and to the south by the Mediterranean, Two-thirds of the territory is covered with mountains. The highest mountain peak is Mount Olympus, at an altitude of 2917m.
While visiting Greece you can enjoy a sunset in Santorini and you’ll know why this Greek destination is one of the world’s best places to visit. In addition to offering an exquisite evening atmosphere, Santorini boasts colorful black and red sand beaches, ancient ruins and several wineries. But the picture-perfect scenery is what draws most travelers, the whitewashed buildings that line the brilliantly blue caldera. What’s more, the luxury hotels here are some of the world’s best.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Dubai lies on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf; it is the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, one of the seven emirates that make up the country. Dubai is home to the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, one of the world’s largest shopping centers, the Dubai Mall, and one of the only indoor ski resorts in the world, Ski Dubai.
In addition to being a city of superlatives, Dubai embraces its Middle Eastern traditions. The best way to immerse in the beauty and enticing places of Dubai is to tour the Jumeirah Mosque and stroll through the gold and spice souks.

The Gambia

It may be the smallest country in Africa, but there are plenty of postcard-worthy beaches to be found in The Gambia. Daytime temperatures hover in the high-twenties, often tipping 30°C. Plus, the winters are dry so chances of rains and need to carry an umbrella may not be there.
You can soak up the sun and sea at the coastal resorts of Bakau, Fajara, and Kotu where you’ll be spoiled for choice with cheap and cheerful hotels after you’ve had your share of beaches, head inland to explore the namesake river at the heart of the country. Its verdant basin brims with wildlife: where you can spot hippos, manatees, monkeys and hundreds of bird species.

Rome

Delicious food (pizza, pasta, gelato, you name it), rich coffee are a few reasons why travelers love Rome. However, food and drink aren’t the only things this city has to offer. You’ll find major highlights of art and history, from the Galleria Borghese to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum all these sites are majestic and beautiful, and they provide you a vivid look into the rich history of Rome.
Rome is the capital of Italy, has been one of the few cities in the world to see the birth of democracy, beautiful architecture and also the prestige to be the birthplace of many amazing artists still remembered today.
The Pizza Novana square contains 3 fountains, and the largest and most memorable is Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers with each of the 4 statues representing a river from different continents.

Palawan, Philippines

If your winter daydreams likely involve palm-fringed beaches with sugar-soft sand, lapped by an ocean the color of a swimming pool, if that sounds like heaven?
Then you’ll love Palawan, a gorgeous cluster of islands where those kinds of views are ten-a-penny.
The Philippines isn’t as popular as neighboring Indonesia yet, so you’ll enjoy a far quieter retreat from the chilly British winter. The food is divine (think fresh tuna and coconut curries) and it’s affordable. Plus with barely any light pollution, the stargazing is magnificent.

Some important things to remember before embarking on your Journey, to enjoy your vacations to the fullest, create memories and have a once in a lifetime experience are:

Alert your credit card company

Ensure that your credit card works while you’re traveling, your credit card company needs to know your travel plans, if you plan in advance and don’t have a credit card apply for one as plastic money is a big help in an unknown territory, as carrying so much cash is not an easy task, so if you need to spend and you don’t have cash-in-hand having credit card at disposal helps in numerous situations.

Confirm all reservations

Double-check all your reservations: your flight, hotel, car rental, restaurants, attractions, and any other services or experiences you’ve planned. So there are no surprises at a check-in counter.
If you have access to a printer, it’s not a bad idea to print out confirmations. If you don’t, write down confirmation numbers (and customer service phone numbers) keep the printed paper in your wallet or with all your travel documents.

Make advance payments on bills that have due dates during your trip

Before your planned travel dates make sure that all dues are clear and we don’t get charged with late fees? Make sure all credit cards, housing expenses (e.g., rent, utilities), and other monthly bills will be paid on time.

Check the weather

This may seem like an obvious one, but “many vacationers forget to do it,” Check the forecast for your destination and your hometown when you’ll be returning, and pack appropriately according to weather conditions.

Eat or give away any perishable food

The last thing you want is to return home to a stinky fridge and a smelly home, take out the garbage and clean the sink to be sure there’s no food in the drain that could rot or attract bugs while you’re away.

Travel Documents

Getting all your documents at one place and getting their copies done is very important, your travel document s shall be your passport, visas, Tickets, itinerary and travel insurance (a requirement from many countries these days, yet an important cover against any unforeseen situations you may encounter while traveling), always leave a copy of itinerary with your friends and family so they are aware of your travel plans and also know where to reach you.

Khurram Zahid

The post 8 most Inviting International winter-sun destinations to visit this winters appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Credit cards are not only an additional source of income in hard times but they also help you to build a strong financial profile, in case you may need some financial support for your business startup in future.

By not having a credit card, you can never own an appreciated credit card score on his/her name (the score is generally offered by the credit card authorities). But there are many reasons for suggesting not to use a credit card. Where there is almost an equal amount of people rejecting and appreciating the use of credit card, there is also a considerable amount of people who believe that it’s not the credit card, that is good or bad, it is the use of these facilities and about how we take the chances and utilize them in our daily life.

This article is written with an aim to review the two sides of the mirror and find what makes some people believe in the worse of having a credit card while others just focus on the goods of it.

The Pros of Credit Card:

If used properly, a credit card can bring the cardholders with a number of benefits. Some of these advantages are as follow:

• They are a great help in case of emergency
• They can help and appreciated in holding reservations
• As compare to other tools like debit cards etc. credit cards offer additional protection against any kind of fraud especially while doing online shopping
• If you choose the card wisely, you can get bonuses, flyer miles, cash rebates and others
• If used carefully, the credit card can earn you a positive credit history that can, later on, help you in a number of ways

The Cons of Credit Card:

If you are not using your credit card wisely, you will surely face a number of issues and financial imbalance. Some of the most devastating impacts of credit card can be as follow;

• An irresponsible use of credit card with earn you a negative credit history
• Negative credit history will earn your negative credit scores that will be a hurdle in a number of issues in future
• You will face a number of issues while applying for loans, or leasing a car etc.
• You may go overboard while using a credit card and most of such cases have been found in females as they tend to be an impulsive buyer. This means that they own a credit card and they out for shopping they generally end-up buying stuff that is out of their budget, or not in their need.

Credit cards are not a bad thing, until and unless they are handled by a person with wrong intentions or who is bad in dealing with his finances. If you own a credit card, important is to use it responsibly. If you do this job right, you will open up a door of amazing opportunities to you.

Related Read: Want your First Credit Card? These Requirements from Banks you Need to Know

The most important thing to do while dealing with a credit card is to pay your credit in time. If you fail in doing so you are likely to end up facing difficulties to get your loans approved, lease a car and get a business loan. If you are not paying your credit in time, you may face serious issues like becoming a defaulter of the bank. We won’t suggest you to not to use your credit card to pay your bills, but pay them wisely and do not become over debt.

There are a number of good and bad aspects of using and paying your bills with a credit card. If you are not sure about is the credit card is good or bad, look at the following aspects and decide on your own.

Superlative Aspects:

Immediate fulfillment: let’s say that you are willing to buy a mobile of the latest model which is about PKR 50,000, but you do not have that much cash in your pocket at the moment. Rather than taking months to save that much amount or asking your friends and family for a loan, you can use your credit card, pay the bill take your new mobile and leave. All that you have to do is to pay the bill at the time of few months. This way, the credit card becomes the most efficient and cost-effective way to pay your bills in tough times or when you lack money.

Convenience and Safety: Going for shopping of an expensive item with cash in your pocket is really very risky. You may get robbed by the corner of the street, but no one can harm your hard earn money if it is lying in your bank account and in the form of a credit card in your pocket. Thus, going for a credit card will keep you secure.

Reward Programs: The best credit cards in Pakistan are offering its customers with the jaw-dropping reward programs. Such programs offer you points that can help you in cash, travel or good services, each time you make a purchase with your credit card. If you keep your credit card charging nicely, you will end up with no debt to you.

Dreadful Aspects:

Overspending: The open line of the credit card is the most dangerous yet attractive thing. While you are in the store looking for a TV and you come up with the laptop that you are inspired with, and you end up buying both of them is dangerous for your bank account. People are seen spending more than they can afford, by using their credit cards. This is really dangerous for you. Thus to use a credit card, the control on your spending habits is a must.

Related Read: Visa Or Master? Which Credit Card you Should Go for?

Fees and Interest Rates: Despite you have planned to pay back your credit card for the TV, in three months but you end changing your priorities. Rather than paying it in the decided installments you start focusing on requesting to pay a minimum amount per month and skip one or two cycles. In such cases, the interest will shoot up. And you will have no idea when the bargain turned into a high debt. The only way you keep things align is to pay the balance in full or in minimum time.

Long Impact of Mistakes: Despite it is bad to be the charge for PKR 5000 for delaying or missing a single payment but, breaking the rule will also bring you some long-lasting negative impacts on your credit report. This flaw in your credit report will stay with you for a really very long time and will keep pinching you in a number of ways. If you own a card, you need to keep your credit report as clean as possible.

Identity Theft: What will you do if your card gets stolen and someone shops the TV instead of you. Although you can register a complaint about the card theft and misuse and you will not have pay for the TV. But the thieves these days are very smart they have got their hands on skills to apply for a credit card in your name and rob your identity. Thus, it is important for you to know where your credit card is and who is using it and for which purpose.

By reviewing all these goods and bad we can come to only one conclusion that it’s not the credit card itself that makes it good or bad, it the person who owns and use it. If used properly you can come up with a number of benefits from the credit card. However, if you are not careful and concerned about your spending and buying attitudes, you are not looking after your numbers on the credit report, you will have to face some long-lasting negative impacts.

Related Read: Top 5 Reasons your Credit Card Application can get Rejected

Thus, before heading to check the credit card requirements, check your own habits of spending and alter them before taking a credit card in your hands.

Khurram Zahid

The post Is Having a Credit Card in Pakistan Good or Bad? appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Nothing comes like a piece of cake; you need to put some efforts and attention to earn the benefits of anything. Likewise, you need to apply for the best credit card package and services that suit your earning capacity and expenses. A credit card is not just of one type. There are different types of credit cards with different packages. Every bank offers different kind of benefits or services to the credit card users at different stages.

To get a credit card for you, important is to learn what a credit card is? How it helps you? what must you know before applying for a credit card? The answer to all these questions will help you make a better decision for your expense management and thus, better future.

Related Read:  Top 5 Reasons your Credit Card Application can get Rejected

How to Choose a Credit Card

Among hundreds of credit cards, you must go for the one that suits you the best.
To choose the best credit card for you, first of all, you need to know that why you are looking to have a credit card? You can think of having a credit card for the following reasons:

• To buy stuff online or shop during holidays
• Pay your bills online
• To keep some backup amount for use at times when you run out of cash

No matter for what reasons you choose to use a credit card, the important thing is that if you will be paying off, the amount you owe each month or just spreading the repayment for a long period.

If you are able to pay the utilized amount, on the whole, each month, you will be able to earn advantage of the interest-free period. In such a case, the interest rate may not be that important for you but, you might have a look at the credit cards that come with random incentives. There are many cards that offer you discounted shopping on famous brands. Most appreciated and trusted credit cards also offer facilities to the customers on special occasions like Eid or new years to shop with discounted price.

Even if you are able to pay the full amount at one time, it is important to plan what you will do if you are not able to do so?

Related Read: Want your First Credit Card? These Requirements from Banks you Need to Know

What If You Will Not Pay Back the Amount Used?

If so, you will end up paying the interest on the amount spent. Every bank has different interest ratio on different cards and with different packages. The exact amount of interest depends on what package or card you are selecting.

Thus to take complete benefit of a credit card it is important to spend wisely. Do not go for a random shopping just because you have amount limit on your credit card. Do not forget to be sure that you are able to pay the used amount, tomorrow or the day after.

Following are some key terms you need to get hold of before applying for a Credit Card:

The Annual Percentage Rates

The cost of borrowing on your credit card, if you are not able to pay the used balance each month. Compare the percentage rate with different cards you are considering or are offered to you. Go for the one with the cheapest percentage. Also compare the points like charges, incentives and fees.

Minimal Repayment

When you are not able to pay off the used balance every month, the credit card supplying authorities will ask you to pay the minimum amount. Most commonly it is about 3% of the net amount that you need to pay. However, it can vary. So check and compare before making a final decision.

Annual Charges

It is also important as there are some credit cards that charge annual fees for using their services. This fee is added to the amount you need to pay back to the card. Important to note is that you will have to pay an interest on the fee as well. But if you are paying it fully, you won’t need to pay any interest.

Charges of the Credit Card

For this you need read the credit agreement in detail and check what are the other charges that you will have to pay? Usually, you will have to pay if you have gone above your credit limit, if you used the card abroad or if you made a late payment.

The Introductory Interest Rates

This is the point where you will pay low interest or not at all. After a certain time limit, this rate will increase. For example, it will increase after 6 months or a year staring form a certain date. If you are comparing different credit cards, check which introductory date rate will last the longest. Also, check the change in interest rate at the end of the introductory period.

The Rewards of Loyalty Points

These points end up depending on the amount you spend and then use them to buy things. This can be a particular shop or brand. Check how these rewards can be used and how they can give you benefits.

Getting the Cash Back

As you are paying some amount to use the facilities of a credit card, so it is your right to know how and when you will get money refunded to your card, depending on the amount you spend. For instance, in some cases, it implies only when if you are paying your balance in full, every month. Prefer to go for a lower interest rate. Choose a card that is offering you the lowest interest rate among all the shortlisted credit cards.

You Can Apply for Credit Card

• By online form filling at bank website of the service provider (available in some cases)
• By post
• By call
• By visiting the bank building/branch
• Or simply apply through Smartchoice.pk

Apply for Bank Alfalah Credit Card

You will fill the form and the service provider will check the record you have provided and will check if you are eligible to own the credit card or not. The services provider will check your bank records that are commonly known as the previous bank statement.

Your bank statement will tell the financial analyst if you are a good earner or how you spend your money, how much money do you normally borrow etc. it will also tell if you are good payers and follow laws and regulations or not.

Read the application form carefully before filling it and up and before signing it. Make sure that you are presenting all the information right. Any false information or misleading will lead to rejection of credit card services. If you are not sure how to fill the form you can ask the credit card service provider, or the bank representative to fill the form for you.

Khurram Zahid

The post Which Terms You Need to Learn before Applying for a Credit Card? appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Apply for a Credit Card. Click here

Why should credit cards be used in the first place?

Here are some advantages of credit cards which show why you should use a credit card in the first place:

1. You do not have to count your cash before paying bills of any kind or check if you have enough of it or not.
2. It is also a safer way of carrying money; cash always attracts thieves and robbers especially in a high crime rate country like Pakistan.
3. For some, carrying cash itself seems a burden. Going to an ATM every now and then and filling wallets up with paper money can be very irritating.
4. Besides these obvious advantages of using credit cards, one also gets the favours that the credit card packages offer to the clients.

Related read: How to Enjoy your Credit Card without Going into Debt

Credit cards and their utilization in Pakistan:

People have only recently started using credit cards in Pakistan and mainly for shopping. People create multiple accounts and various credit cards that offer various services and use them according to their needs. If extra money from the bank is used up, the bank charges a certain amount of interest that one can pay later. This service was mainly devised for salaried people who have limited amount of money available. Credit cards offer emergency loan from the bank and people can return it as soon as they get their salary. This is the general trend of credit card usage in Pakistan.

The “How to’s” of a credit card:

• Use of credit cards is not for people who have very little self-control. If you cannot use your credit smartly then you may put yourself at a disadvantage.
• Keeping more than one accounts can be very helpful for if one account exceeds limit, the other credit card remains at your disposal.
• Keep note of the amount of money you spend on your credit card so that you may spend the money you can pay back.
• Pay your credit card bills on time to avoid unnecessary financial burden.
• Credit limit is the amount you set as limit on your credit card. Keep it low to make it easier to pay it back.
• Stay updated to your bank’s policies and the status of your credit card account.

Related read: 5 Tips To Save Money Using Your Credit Card!

What to look for when getting a credit card?

The comparison of the packages and policies offered by different banks is very important. Following are a few steps to help you choose a suitable credit card:

• Don’t stick to one bank, look for packages most convenient for you instead.
• Prioritize taking advantage of the offers that the packages hold, Credit cards are more than just replacement of money.
• Use a package that offers ever-ready customer care, maximum discount offers on a wide-variety of brands, feasible security plans and insurance policies. It should also help you pay for online shopping efficiently.
• Check if the package you chose allows you to take as much advantage out of it as possible with little miscellaneous financial burdens.  

Related read: Most Rewarding Platinum Credit Card in Pakistan

5 banks and their credit card packages and policies:

Following are the top five banks in Pakistan that offer credit cards along with the packages and policies they offer.

• Bank Alfalah:

Bank Alfalah offers Three kinds of cards, classic/gold card, titanium card and platinum card. The packages are all the same however, as we move from classic to platinum, the services get better and wider. These services include worldwide accessibility, reward points, instalment pays, CIP lounge access etc. it also offers a cheque book with up to 50% credit limit utility and chip based credit cards with extra security.

• Faysal bank:

Faysal bank offers five types of credit cards, world, platinum, titanium (platinum-gold combo), mc² (unique style and chip technology) and Airblue (travel friendly credit). Through Airblue, we can accumulate blue miles and redeem them for free tickets. Their world credit card is the most expensive and offers maximum luxuries all around the world.

• Standard Chartered:

They offer the Visa Platinum card, Mastercard Titanium credit card and Visa Gold card. Apart from these this bank offers Cash Back credit card and the easy credit card. The easy card has the lowest financial charge and global accessibility while the cashback card reduces monthly financial burdens.

• UBL

UBL offers three types of cards, UBL credit card, UBL PSO auto credit card, and UBL Visa Platinum. Platinum is the most expensive whereas UBL credit card is the cheapest. The PSO auto credit offers fuel saving from PSO specifically.

• HBL

Habib Bank Limited offers four types of credit cards i.e. fuel saver, green, gold and platinum. The fuel saver card has further sub-types, green and gold. It basically offers saving on fuel cost ‘reducing the burden of monthly fuel expense’. The features and benefits of the gold and green credit card are the same whereas the platinum credit card offers everything at a grander level, offering and receiving larger amounts.

Credit cards are one step ahead to the financial development within our country, keeping up with these developments will make us financially compatible with other nations.

Khurram Zahid

The post 5 Top Banks Offering Credit Cards in Pakistan appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Making this platform easy to use and feature rich at the same time has always been first tasks in our to-do list. Therefore, after months of hard work by the whole team, Smartchoice.pk has finally launched a new version. The new version is equipped with a better user interface, advanced features, more benefits and enhanced experience for our valued users.

Here are some of our newest features and benefits, but there are more to explore:

Advanced Search to Quickly Find Products

Now you can search your desired personal finance products by product name, provider name or by category name.

For instance, if you are looking to see Bank Alfalah credit card options, simply write “Alfalah Credit Card” and hit search. You get to the result page with all Alfalah credit card listings and information.

Same you can do with broadband, car, health and travel insurance and car financing.

Check out the search on home page

Compare Better with Less Input

The crux of our business is “The Comparison”. A user should compare desired financial product head to head from a pool of providers before going for a final buying decision.

Therefore we put extra effort to make this feature more advanced yet simplified enough to take you to required information in just a few seconds.

We tried to keep it mostly click based with less typing. You can compare multiple products from different providers way better than before.

Try the comparison

Filter Results Specific to Your Need

We understand that you want to see information specific to your requirements. Therefore, we have added filter functionality to keep results as specific as possible.

You can easily filter results by provider name, pricing, coverage, type and more.

Try this out in search result page

Easily Navigate on Mobile Devices

50% of our users come from mobile devices. Therefore, since we started working on a new interface, our top priority was to keep it as mobile friendly as possible to cater our users more efficiently who are coming from mobile and tablet devices.

We have optimized it for each mobile operating systems and different screen sizes. You can use all the features and find information as easily on any mobile device as you do on a desktop computer.

Track Activities with Facebook Login

As we want to keep everything simple and easy to use on our website, therefore rather going for long forms and complicated signup process, we have put just a click signup from your facebook account.

Facebook signup on our website is officially authorized from Facebook. You login into a secure environment with complete information privacy.

After login with facebook, you can keep track of all your past activities, product search, and purchase history and maintain your user profile for future transactions.

Now Compare Credit Card & Car Financing

Smartchoice has offered broadband internet and insurance policies. Now banking products are added into the array to compare and select.

We have partnered with top banks in Pakistan to offer credit card and car financing options. Updated and complete information, compare them, select one and easily apply online.

Experience now, visit Smartchoice.pk

Sibtain Jiwani

smartchoice.pk

The post Smartchoice.pk Introduces New Features with Better User Experience appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.